Inside video game cookbooks with one of the biz's top chefs
Insider sauce.
Today it's all about cookbooks. More specifically: it's about cookbooks themed around games, which are all the rage these days. Do you have one? Maybe you've got the Destiny cookbook, or perhaps you've got the Fallout cookbook. The Final Fantasy 14 cookbook? Or maybe you're saving yourself for the Halo cookbook in August.
My guest today wrote all of those and she's currently writing three more. She actually finished writing the Halo cookbook a year ago, though how she pulled recipes from a world like that I don't know. What does Master Chief even eat? Can he eat? It can't be easy going to the toilet in that suit.
My guest immerses herself in these worlds to create a kind of extension of them. Check out our piece on the Destiny cookbook to see what I mean. These books include characters and lore from the games as well as something like 70 recipes to cook. They're more than just food.
She didn't always want to be a cook, though. Once upon a time she wanted to be a stormchaser, which is super cool. In the end, though, she studied 3D animation and found herself at a company making user interfaces for NASA, of all places, and even designed software used on the International Space Station.
But games and food were passions in her life that wouldn't quit, and one fateful day she realised she could combine them to powerful effect. Fast forward 10 years and this self-taught chef is now a full-time professional, and has been for about a year now.
It's my pleasure to introduce the lovely Victoria Rosenthal to you. She works under the name Pixelated Provisions online, which is her blog where you can find hundreds of video game-inspired recipes from all kinds of games. Fancy some Animal Crossing carrot scones or some Hell Stew from Yakuza: Like a Dragon? Rosenthal has got you covered.
Episode 16 of One-to-one is now available to all and from all major podcasting platforms.
You can find all other episodes of One-to-one, formerly known as The New Eurogamer Podcast, in our podcast archive.